Trapped in a Virtual World, New Enemies, and Hiei
by minae
Summary: Kaori Sasaki, mistakenly lost in a dark forest, stumbles upon the yyh group and a talking toddler..then there is messing with her mind, kidnap, numerous painful discoveries, and trapped in a virtual world with the YYH gang.(HieiOC-slow, I hate fast ones)
1. Stuck, Pain, and Murder

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters except for Kaori!!! (and a few side characters, but that's all) ^_^ 

  


Racing swiftly through the blur of greenery, Hiei's soft leather footwear grazes the ground as he paces himself, hands gripping the handle of his katana like always, heading toward a pinpoint destination. As his cape flows around him, his hair, jagged black with white locks in the front, flutters wildly without getting in the way of its owner. He halts suddenly in a small clearing of grass surrounded by tall, sturdy oaks and feels the sunbeams, unable to catch him at his speed before. As the light is absorbed into his dark clothes, he immediately leaps to a nearby tree with heavy shade, landing on a firm and unsplintered branch with only a slight sound. After a sharp look around with his narrowed, red eyes, he finds everything satisfactory and lies down, one knee propped and his hands by his sides, where he could easily reach his weapon. As his cape flutters freely, he begins to rest, still with his ears sharply tuned as he awaits the arrival of the others. 

  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  


Feeling slightly bored, Kaori Sasaki sighs as she feels the bus rocking up and down, jolt particularly hard, then smooth out its path again in the same rhythmic motion as it had been for an hour and three-quarters already. Glancing at her watch, she bites back another huge sigh of boredom. As usual as when she has time to think, her mind wanders in a swirl, ending up to one point. Her past. A wry expression lingers on her lips as she reflects that her history isn't a great one. 

  


When she had been found near the shore of an ocean, she had been a growing baby with some short, slightly wavy locks of black hair and the wide eyes of a young child. She had been covered with only a blanket. Her foster parents told her that she seemed guarded and fearful, the actions which had been softened by the love of her adopted parents. The strange thing is that she knew her name was Kaori. 

  


All that she remembers of her past is a crisp memory, blurred toward the end. 

  


She had been held in the arms of someone crying in a soft blanket covering all of her except her head. She had peeked out and saw a tall, proud female figure, a leader of some sort, speaking in a hostile tone. This leader had said

  


"Not again. After what you saw what Hina's punishment was, it wasn't enough, was it? Her mixed breed son was thrown into the sea waters, and this will be the same fate of your unpure daughter. Why, why did you do it? Love? No, that is not sufficient enough to save your daughter. You have made trouble among the Koorimes. This is the price you must pay. Another part ice demon and part fire demon will be thrown into the waters to be eaten."

  


The next feeling had been a shower of circular objects on Kaori as she also had heard a cry, and knitting her eyebrows trying to think, she remembers the way she had wriggled then clutched one of the pearls in her hand, giggling softly in admiration of the shiny thing. Then, she had been swiftly silenced by the feeling of rising away from the warm, tight embrace, with which she had bitten the new, cold person taking her away. Kaori also had cried out in anger, but it was no use. This is where the memory was confusing. There had been a frightening feeling of falling, then a bump on her head which brought darkness. 

  


There was nothing else to remember but pain then her foster parents. 

  


All of a sudden, she is taken back to the bus when she hears a gun shot-like sound. Sitting up in alarm, her eyes, colored dark red in the irises, sharpen, looking around then ending up at the teacher in charge of this field trip. Looking at her watch, she realizes she had been dreaming for quite a while, and now the road was barely able to be seen, and a thick forest was surrounding them. Many students start whimpering, and some even break out into tears. The teacher cleas his throat trying to be heard above the noise. 

  


"We seem to have a flat tire folks, but it's nothing to be worried about. We'll just get out the spare-"

  


Here, the bus driver seems to be uncomfortable, and whispers something to the teacher, who looks shocked then grinds his teeth. 

  


"It seems that the driver has forgotten the spare tire, so he will go hike backwards a long way to get one."

  


At these words, the driver is about to whine, but he is silenced quickly by a scowl. The teacher starts again. 

  


"Meanwhile, we will go outside the bus for some fresh air to wait for him to return."

  


The bus driver sighs then releases his pudgy fingers from the wheel. He pulls the handle which opens the door and gives a grunt as he rises with difficulty from the warm chair. Waving, he tries to smile, one which earns no return one, and starts to walk from the direction they came from. 

  


All the students and the teacher climb off the vehicle, with an increasing volume of chatter. 

  


Kaori, annoyed, realizes she has been glaring, then fixes a fake smile on her face. Her smiles were fake ninety percent of the time. Always, in her heart, she felt something was missing, and during particularly bad pangs of sadness, she would hold on to the pearl gem she wears as a necklace. She had this gem when she was found, and she felt a connection with it. Of course, she doesn't believe her memory was a memory, for it was more of a dream. There couldn't be such things as demons. Then again, she believes in them even as she thinks this. 

  


Jumping of the bus with ease, she snorts slightly as she sees some classmates have difficulty. Turning away, she takes in the scenery around her in a quick glance, then she goes back and carefully studies it with awe. It was so wild and free. Closing her eyes, she breathes deeply and smiles slightly inwardly. Her spirit seems to rise, and she wants to run and run as quickly as she can, something she is rarely allowed to do. Her adopted parents strictly forbid it in some fear. 

  


Kaori turns and eyes the teacher, who's back faces her at the moment, bandaging a scraped knee of a young child who had fallen off the bus steps. Taking this chance although she feels sorry she is taking advantage of an injury to run away, she makes sure no one is looking at her, then escapes in a blur. Running at a miraculous speed through the forest, she is unused to this speed, not her legs that is, but her aim. She is constantly hit by a few branches, at which she scowls at then continues. Finally after a particularly painful scratch on the cheek, she stops to brush some of the clinging leaves off her clothes. For this field trip, she had put on a navy blue T-shirt that has a curved, japanese sword on it, a grayish white pair of pants-not gray from dirt but a specific color which she preferred over the bright white which she has an aversion to. They are not too loose, but they are not constraining at all. 

  


She laughs with a bit of bitterness. So much for that field trip to some strange, old, uninhabited castle. She didn't care too much for it, but she didn't hate it either. She just preferred to be outside on a bright day. 

  


Touching her the fingers of her right hand to her cheek, she refuses to wince, then wonders whether it would be infected. Sighing, she decides to turn back, for she had been away long enough. Looking around, she freezes as she realizes that she does not know what direction is the way back. Feeling anxious, she tries to recall, then remembers passing through a small clearing. Looking for this now, she sees a clearing up maybe several yards ahead when she squints. She thinks

  


~Didn't I come from somewhere behind me though? But there's a clearing up there, with oaks around it and everything. No, but I don't remember so many oaks in that clearing I paused at for a second. ~

  


Shrugging, she decides to go forward, for she didn't have much of a choice anyways. She starts running, getting closer and closer, and she begins to feel a foolish hope that it was the same one she passed earlier. Because of this distraction and the speed, Kaori does not pay attention, and she crashes her right arm, the one which happens to be the dominant one, with the extreme impact into a weak yet spiked tree. The tree falls quickly, crashing toward one of the oaks nearby. Between red flashes of pain in her mind, her sharp eyes catch a dark figure resting on one of the branches the tree is falling toward. The dark figure seems to stand up sharply with strange alertness, and before Kaori can see what happens or call out, the tree blocks her vision from the figure. 

  


Feeling panic that she killed someone, she almost breaks down, but she stops herself. For some reason, in all her life, she has never cried, and she is proud of it. She even remembers this record now in her pain. Foolishness yes, but she doesn't have much to be proud of anyways. 

  


Feeling faint, she scolds herself to get a grip, for although her arm was bleeding profusely, she didn't need to be so weak. Finally, her vision clears, and her arm gives sharp pangs of pain with each throb. Walking over slowly to a tree, she makes sure it is not of the same type as the tree which hurt her arm, then sighs, leaning on it. 

  


~I have to wait for my arm to stop bleeding. That's the first thing. Then, I'll find help or somehow find my way back. I killed someone. ~

  


This last thought is said without feeling, for she uses her skill of pushing away strong feelings, the one she has used all her life, to keep away the thoughts of a bloody body under the trees. She didn't need this now. It was all her fault. She shouldn't have left. The boy seemed to be strange though, with a white strip of cloth firmly around his forehead. He had black, strangely jagged hair and white in it. How strange. She was born with two strands of white on both sides of her face. All of her other hair was black. It must be coincidence or something. Sighing, she stops her flow of thinking and looks up to admire the birds, a good way to keep her mind off the now dull pain in her arm. She should bandage it, but she has no way to with the remaining arm. 

  


A blur, black, is caught at the corner of her eye, and she tries to get up as quickly as she can, which turns out to be very slowly. All of a sudden, she feels her back pressed hard into the tree, and she is held upward by her collar. Biting her lip at the sudden pain when her arm bangs against the tree, she looks angrily at who is holding her. The person she had killed?! It couldn't be. 

  


To be continued....yes, it will be. 

  


Author: Hi! Do you like it so far? I worked really diligently on it, okay? *grin* I'm sorry her past is too coincidental to Hiei's past, but I thought it would be better for her to be like that. Besides, it was fun writing about it. I know nothing has been happening yet, but it'll be more exciting later once everyone has come in, and the adventure starts. No, this isn't going to be all romance, though it's kind of obvious there is going to be some. R&R please!! I'm going to feel bad if no one reviews, aw. Bubai. 


	2. Kaori Meets the YYH gang

  


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters (*sniffle*) except Kaori. 

(Side Note: Rurouni Kenshin fans that are reading this may think I changed Kaoru's name, but Kaori is a true Japanese name. )

(Another Side Note: Anonymous reviews are now accepted. Sorry about that! I didn't know I had only signed reviews allowed until now. )

btw, now I'll be able to switch around between thoughts of all the characters, since now it'll be more than just Kaori. It'll be more interesting. ^.^

Kaori's thoughts: ~...~ (surrounded in "~"s)

Hiei's thoughts: –...– -this is to avoid some confusion 

Now, Kaori is about to meet face to face with someone we all know....~.^

  


~*~*~*~*~

  


Silent, she stares in shock, forgetting that she is being held upwards by her collar and her arm's flow of blood is still oozing at her side. Her mind seems frozen, only focusing on the fuming person before her. Only one word can be fumbled out of her mouth. 

"You!"

Her mind's eye seems to have two images side by side, one a hazy image of the dark figure earlier, and the second the angry but alive male before her. As they match up, Kaori gasps in shock and relief, though the sound is bitten off short by a new threat: a blade of a katana touching her neck. Holding her throat stiffly, she looks straight into the dark ruby eyes of the newcomer, about her height, but obviously exceeding in power.

He begins to speak in a low voice, quiet but threatening. 

"Who sent you here? Tell me now, or I will make sure your coming death will force it out of you. Tell me the name of who sent you...."

Bewildered, Kaori frowns, trying to figure out what he said. What did he mean? Sent? Wait...coming death?! She exclaims softly, then begins to speak with an indignant glower. Clenching her fist, some of her wounds reopen and bleed again. 

"I never meant to crush you under that tree. I never even meant to hit the tree in the first place. *here, she stops to fume a bit and raise her voice* And I, Kaori Sasaki, am no murderer!!"

Eyeing her silently, he snorts then releases her, who welcomes the larger air flow back. She stands up, and the two stand face to face with guarded, cool expressions in their eyes, examining each other carefully and coming up with conclusions and questions. 

~Who is this person; he's fast like me, but he has skill and much more grace in agility than I do. He guards his thoughts with an icy glare; his eyes are a deep red similar to my own. Why does he have a white band firmly tied around his head? ~

–Her speed is at a high level, but she is clumsy and unpracticed *eyes her bleeding arm*. Her name: Kaori Sasaki. Her spirit energy...higher than usual Ningen but still weak. She is of no use at all. She- –

Suddenly, all their musings are broken off by a shout. 

"Yo, shrimp! What are you doing over there?"

Then, a quieter voice drifts over to them. 

"Yes, Hiei, who is that you have there?"

Both turning, they see two people walking toward them. One wears a blue uniform and foolish grin, along with a funny orange haircut. The second, quieter one is a male of softened-red hair, emerald eyes, and a white uniform. Seeing them and suddenly remembering the meeting here, Hiei looks at them for a moment longer then walks over to an uncrushed oak's shade before speaking in as few words as he must. 

"She knocked over a tree as I was resting."

Looking over at the fallen trees then Hiei, they immediately understand what happened, and while one of them smiles in amusement, the other, orange-haired one guffaws loudly. Narrowing his eyes, Hiei gives a dark look then looks away just as another person comes over to the clearing...only, this one was a toddler. Kaori, who hasn't said anything since the other two people arrive, smothers a laugh at the sight of the child walking in with a strange outfit and hands behind his back. However, laughter soon turns into shock as the toddler...he begins speaking in a slightly high-pitched voice. 

"Kurama, Kuwabara, and Hiei. I see you're all here. Now where is Yusuke? Aagh, he must be late again! *starts muttering* Always late, argh, he'd better have a good reason this time. Darn, he's the leader, and he's so irresponsible. Fine, I'll just start without him. Your mission is to go to an old castle up ahead. There have been strange disappearances of humans around there, and I suspect it has something to do with that jail break out a while ago."

At this point, Kaori starts looking from each person to the next in confusion. This toddler, he talked! And the rest didn't seem to mind! What's going on...

Here, Kurama clears his throat, gesturing to the toddler to direct his attention to...Kaori. When the strange child sees her, he yells. 

"AAAAAHHHH! What is she doing here?! This is supposed to be confidential you know!"

Seeing no one else volunteering to answer, Kurama coughs. 

"She seems to have accidentally stumbled upon this clearing and injured herself."

  


Once more, the semi-peace is interrupted with a yell. All sit up in alarm and defensive positions. 

"SPIRIT GUN!"

A huge slam is heard, and many yards away, more deforestation occurs with another yell of "timber!"

Soon after, a male, with very shortly-cropped black hair and a green uniform and brown eyes, comes up with a smug look, hands behind his head. 

"How's that for a show? Sorry I'm late Koenma. I had a little bit of a hold up."

Although Kuwabara grins too, Kurama and the toddler, Koenma, look worried. Hiei sits back down again, keen eyes looking around them for more unexpected surprises. Only then, Yusuke (Kaori deduced this was him) notices Kaori and turns to Koenma. 

"Hey, is it Botan's day off? Who's she?"

"Noooo Yusuke, she isn't supposed to be here."

All eyes turn to her, and she blushes faintly but holds her head high and glares fiercely. Although all of them (except Hiei of course) feel a strange reminder of Hiei in that glare, none of them mention it. Koenma whispers to Kurama. 

"Ummm, would you happen to have anything to erase her memory a little? Just so she doesn't remember all of this? Heal her wounds too."

Kurama nods, then walks toward Kaori. Although she hasn't had much practice in fighting defensively or offensively except for some practices she has done herself since her foster parents collect artifacts, she still grits her teeth, sensing a form of danger. 

  


Then there's just blackness....

  


Yusuke stands behind her slumped form, grinning. 

"I thought it would be easier if she was asleep."

After smiling in thanks, Kurama bends over her, taking out a small seed in his hair, carefully tilting her throat to let a measured fluid squeezed out go down, then looking around. Kaori wakes up slightly, only in a foggy haze, seeing Kurama looking around him, then brighten as he finds a specific leaf on a bush near the tree Hiei was sleeping upon earlier. As he rubs it against her arm, she makes a slight sound, then falls back asleep as her wounds disappear. 

After finishing, the Urameshi team groups around Koenma to recap on the mission. However, there was some interesting news from Yusuke. 

"As I was heading here, a large demon attacked me. It was a similar to huge millipede, except all the feet were like needles, and strangely powdered wings. *here, he seemed to be thinking to himself* it kept on trying to powder me, but before it could, I killed it with my spirit gun. The strange thing is, when I turned back, there were only crushed trees. No body."

Here, he turns to the group again. 

"The good news is, I passed by a stranded bus a mile ago. They seemed to be waiting for a spare tire to arrive. I overheard that one of the girls seemed to be missing, Kaori Sasaki right? We should just lay her nearby when she is about to wake up."

Koenma thinks about this, then nods his head, speaking with his so-called high voice of authority again. 

"Okay then, it's settled. Hiei, why don't you do it since you're the fastest, and leave her there."

  


Suddenly, there is a silence, and Koenma, realizing what he had just said give a "Wahhhhh" of terror and whimpers behind a tree. Hiei, glancing around for only a second, silently tenses his muscles in anger and unwillingness, then relaxing and going over to the girl, picking her up with disgust that he has for humans. Sighing inwardly, he gets a direction from Yusuke, and he swiftly runs that way, only needing to keep part of his mind on his running, the rest on nothing much except for the mission. 

  


As he bends quickly to avoid a branch, the sunlight catches upon something. Stopping, Hiei's eyes widen as they see the pearl gem necklace, which he immediately recognizes as a tear gem of the Koorimes. Briefly flaring up in anger thinking it is one of Yukina's, he quickly pushes away the idea, for the tear gems of his sister seemed to have a faint touch of her spirit energy. Staring at it, he touches it, then looks at Kaori. Noticing her spirit energy closer up, he shockingly feels a raw power inside her, except it seems to be covered when she is awake. Frowning, he begins to wonder just who she is. But then, he begins to run again, for he had spent too long thinking. Reaching the place, as he lays her down near a bush next to the bus, she begins to stir, and stretching her arms out, she wacks him accidentally in the face. Almost killing her at the spot with this, he changes his mind and heads back. 

  


~*~*~*~

  


Hiei reaches the group again, and they begin to move once Hiei shuts up Kuwabara with a cold glare, for the fool had been grinning and asking whether Hiei stopped to have a romance since he took so long. 

  


~*~*~*~

  


Meanwhile, Kaori....

  


She wakes up with a start, looking around wildly. She was in totally different surroundings, and alone. What happened? She had been knocked out. Looking down suddenly, she realizes that her right arm and cheek have been completely healed, and she wonders whether she had dreamed it all. Feeling the bump on her head however, she winces and shakes her head. Definitely not a dream. And now there was more to think about too...ugh. Realizing her necklace was outside of her shirt too, she carefully tucks it back in. 

  


Then hears the frantic shrieks of her teacher and her classmates. 

  


Author's Note: Yes! Now that's a cliffhanger. Soon, I think it'll be more interesting too. The adventure will finally start. The romance might too. ^.~ THANKS FOR ALL THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED!!! I'm so sorry for the people who wanted to review, but now you can. Sorry if this chapter was a little shorter because of all the talking, but this chapter was difficult for me to write. Please mention if I made some characters OOC because I tried not to do so. 

  


Kellynk: Thanks so much for reviewing! You were the first to review, and I felt happy after I saw that someone actually read my story. 

FernLily: Thanks for the encouragement! This is actually my first fanfic, and I'm excited to have readers already. 

Yuki san: YAAY! I'm glad you thought it was a cliffhanger, because I wasn't sure it was a very good one. The story will get more interesting soon. 

Beckboo: Thanks for reading my story, and I'll be waiting for updates on yours. I'm waiting! Yeah. 

  


THANKS ALL!!! I'll update soon. 


	3. Captured and a Twist of the Past

  


Disclaimer: Once again, I DO NOT OWN any characters besides Kaori. 

  


Alarmed at the frantic screams, Kaori jerks her head upwards, a bit too quickly, for she feels a bit nauseated and dizzy. Stupid hit on the head. Stupid tree. She must have fallen backwards hard. How she managed to stumble back here, she didn't know. Regaining her bearings, she rushes forward in the direction of the yells. 

  


Then she stops, stunned by what she sees. 

  


In front of her, there are many millipede creatures, their bodies dripping with some sort of acid and sizzling to the ground. The millions of legs were like needles, shiny and sharp. But the most impressive thing was their wings, unlike their slimy green bodies, these were dry and powdered, the color of powdered white wigs worn in the past. 

Turning away from these disgusting creatures, Kaori sees her classmates and teacher caught inside a net. Beside them, the bus was wrangled with many small holes and acid from the bodies of these demons. Muttering to each other in coarse, squeaky voices, the creatures communicated, and Kaori covers her ears in the pain these whispers caused. However, she understands that they are taking the humans away, along with the bus, which they have severed into bits already. Taking them to some sort of leader. But who? Pushing away this question, Kaori realizes she has to do something about this. 

Just as she makes this decision, the leader of the gang of creatures, the one with slightly moldier wings, shrieks out a command to rise, for in the time Kaori was thinking, her classmates and teacher were already limp, maybe even lifeless for all she knew, after being powdered. At this enormously high-pitched screech, Kaori involuntarily screams, for her head seems to swell until the brim of exploding. Her ears seems to be stretched tight, and she could do nothing about it. 

But the scream alerts the demons of her presence. 

Coming up to her, she faintly sees their mouths open in glee, mouths of sharp teeth and phlegm dripping off each. Almost throwing up the breakfast she ate before getting onto the bus this morning, she resists the urge, and despite her uneasiness, tries to get away. But there is no use, and she falls unconscious. The leader of the creatures looks at her, and deciding since she was already unconscious, she didn't need to be powdered. Putting her in along with the others, she is taken away in flight in one net, the other carrying the metal scraps. They fly quickly toward a bleak destination, soon only appearing to be dots from where they left. 

  


~*~*~*~*~*~

  


"..." The pudgy bus driver scratches his sweaty head in confusion, looking around as a spare tire lies at his feet. 

  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  


Sharply, Kaori awakes when she feels her shoulder bang roughly on the floor, followed by her already abused head. Following her, there is a waterfall of tumbling of misshapen, heavy objects crushing her. As something sharp stabs her rib cage, she gasps, eyelids flying open. To her horror, upon her are the bodies of her classmates and teacher, for she had been on the top of the pile. Almost shrieking in terror, she frantically tries to get them off, but since she is flailing, she doesn't do anything but bruise a few noses. To her intense relief, she sees a few of her classmates move positions and mumble as if dreaming. So they weren't dead. But then, one of the boys on top of her start drooling, and mullified, she jerks her head away just in time to avoid the downpour. Someone then seems to stretch in his sleep, and he accidentally wacks her in the face. Almost murdering him at that point, she realizes that she is in no position to do so, then concentrates instead on how to maneuver them off of her. 

A shove there, and a nudge here, and a kick there, and she is free, although gasping for air. Staring a bit disgustedly at the goofy dream smiles, she doesn't know whether to laugh or to continue staring. Sighing, for the firs time, she realizes where she is. A dungeon. Eyes widening, she sways a little in shock. 

She recognizes this particular dungeon for two reasons. One surprising and suspicious. The other...well, you'll see. 

One, this morning. The teacher announced a surprise field trip, off schedule and what they were learning, for something he called a "refreshing day off" or something. He passed around pictures this morning. At first, the bus driver complained that it was dangerous, and no one visited there anymore. Its owner didn't seem to take care of it at all, looking at the outside, the driver said. There were no visitors for decades. But the teacher silenced him, and Kaori forgot all about it. 

Two, she remembers this only now, perhaps from the jolting of her head. She had been here long ago, very long ago. Centuries ago. 

  


This was the place. The place where she and Youko Kurama had parted ways so long ago. 

  


Author's Note: Yes! I know, I know, this is an incredibly short chapter. But don't you agree that the ending is a cliffhanger? To tell you the truth, I didn't plan this at first, but then it just came out this way, and I have a brilliant, or not so much, idea for what's coming ahead. R&R please! Oh, and could someone please tell me why my name doesn't show up when I put it into the search engine? Thank you. 

I'll update soon too. 


	4. Painful Revelations and Deja Vu

  


Disclaimer: -.-;; I do not own any of these characters but Kaori. 

  


(Side note: I've decided to change the name of the title, and if you have any suggestions, put them in reviews okay? I need something more creative ^.^)

  


(Another Side Note: I've decided to rate this story to PG-13 just in case of anything that may happen, although I doubt it. Hee hee, gore, violence...erm, if any of you want any love scenes, I suppose so, although nothing has been established yet so probably not. )

  


^^; I think this chapter might be a little long-winded and tiring, but this must be explained. Next chapter, the action will begin definitely. Things will be different too. Please keep reading. Heee hee!! Sorry if the cliffhanger from the last chapter doesn't fit perfectly with this one. I tried. 

  


Now, Kaori has just remembered with a jolt, a past that had been buried under many layers....

  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  


Again, the thought repeats in her mind...

  


~This is the place. The place, so long ago, where I parted ways with Youko Kurama, where we had met only a few hours before. Short yes, but I'll never forget that series of events. Meeting...battle...capture...then tricked and captured...taken and saved in a way...the shore again.~

  


Standing still, Kaori stares at a scorch marking in the dungeon wall as all the memories flood back in short bits and pieces. Gasping at the strange agony the flood of memories causes, Kaori keeps herself from screaming again, and instead, she bites her lip, drawing blood with the intensity. Clutching her head in pain, she tries to sort out the jumble as each throb of her pulse passes, to no avail. 

  


~_Fire demon...cursed...impure Koorime...falling and blackness...briganti, known for their cruelty and violence...train hard...grow...train hard must have strength...they flee in fear...too powerful...alone...train hard...solitary...alone...powerful...swift thief...katana, my weapon...skillful robbery...priceless treasure...holds golden, glowing electric blue like mercury...the youko is after it..run run run....clearing, many trees...thorny tree, only one, sign come back for it later...dig fast...the fox is coming for it...fast...silver fox paces...faster...done...now run...._~

  


Slamming her head hard against the bleak gray bricks of the dungeon, she breathes quickly then slows into a frustrated sort of calm. Closing her eyes, she steadies herself, shoving away the tangles of pain. Then, sitting in a kind of meditating position with her legs crossed and back straight, she keeps her hands in her lap, ready to venture back into the agony again. She wouldn't give up. She had to get this mess straightened and figure out how it came to be that she has two sets of memories, branching off where she was banished. So perhaps then, that dream had never really been a dream at all...Her hand immediately reaches for her pearl, and holding it, she feels a warmth pouring into her, strengthening her. She could do this. Now, to see what those breaks of memory looks like pieced together. Tensing, she prepares herself for pain. This time though, the flashback comes unexpectedly and with no pain, not physically anymore at least. 

  


~It all started with a-not-so-innocent beginning...rescued by a band of bloodthirsty briganti. 

  


True, Kaori was thrown off of the Island when she was discovered to have fire demon blood running through her veins, which the female leaders of the Koorimes dubbed as being a curse. Her landing was strangely quite smooth though, well, much nicer than landing upon other places which may have well dashed her to bite-size pieces for the animals surrounding her. Luckily, and strangely enough, she landed in the smack middle of a band of briganti, known for their cruel ways. With the violence they were commonly known for, they planned gory ways to finish her off, but when they tried, Kaori even as a child knew the danger of the moment, and her spirit energy protected her with an deep aqua blue flash, the color of her power. Her pupils shrinking to dots, she looked fierce, even though she was wrapped tightly in warm bands of protection. The leader of the group, being as greedy as he was, decided to take advantage of this power early, and instead of killing her, they raised her in their own violent ways. So, Kaori grew to be guarded, unfeeling, and distant to all, only looking for her one goal of more strength, even though she earned the power of an A-class youkai early in her life after training harshly year after year. Her weapon was the katana, a fast, sharp, and powerful weapon in the hands of one who was skilled in its use. Soon enough though, the leader realized his mistake. He couldn't possibly dominate over Kaori, and they all fled in fear. Then, she was a solitary figure, gaining strength day by day and living alone, easily keeping away the dangerous creatures that lurked about where she liked to stay. For a while, she was content to live by herself, even preferred to live in the more isolated parts of Ningenkai. 

  


Using her powers, Kaori soon became agile and cunning, easily tricking the guards of rare items she wished to possess. With manipulative plans, she could slyly gain hold of magical pieces of great use, although she did prefer her own sword above the priceless trinkets. Her katana was gained honestly, for in this weapon, she had pride, for it was a beautiful piece of art, done by a swordsmith long ago in the bloody ages of Japan (=P, haha, Kenshin). Her established outfit was variations of a loose and sleeveless, navy blue tunic, reaching a little past her waist then flaring out slightly. Its cuts were slightly rough, and the material was softer than a calf's leather. The semi-jagged edges were lined with one small strip of white. Under that, she sometimes wore a light blue shirt, fluttering at the wrists, though cut so it wouldn't get it the way. Her pants were fitting and also looser around the edges, and they too were extremely soft and of no restrain to her movements. Her shoes were fawn-colored and of flexible and carefully created leather, gentle to the touch. The soles made no sound, and they bent easily while guaranteed to last for years on end. So, in this way, she became a "bad guy," robbing and thieving with cunning that was unmatched. Until one day, that is. 

  


The Encounter: 

  


Her first meeting with the sly bandit was midway toward his highest fame as one of the greatest thieves of Makai. Meeting this youko was no plan of Kaori, and it definitely was not one of his at all. Recently before the time of their first encounter, she had acquired quite a rare item, only three in the world. It was a bottle of a mini size, the size of a newborn baby's palm. It was the shape of a teardrop and made of an incredibly thin glass which appeared as if it would break with a touch. The glass' colors were a swirl of gold and silver in the clear landscape of opaque design. The point of the teardrop-sized was encircled by a tiny ring of gold with an intricate silver chain hanging off to below the rounded bottom. At the end of the chain, there is a small golden rose, seeming to bend under the touch. Pulling the ring, the small top would pop off and slowly come out drop by drop. Inside the bottle, there is a maple golden liquid, glowing electric blue with power. The secret of this liquid was that it turned the drinker into any animal shape (form an image in the mind, along with one desired power with limits) for an unknown amount of time with each drop. It could last only a few minutes to years, and how it was made is unknown. So, it was obvious why this was priceless, more than priceless with its small amount available. 

  


This was what the to-be legendary bandit was after that crescent moon night. It wasn't exactly "a dark and stormy" night like all those legends portray, but the night was foggy, and one could barely see the stars. At this time, Kaori was camping out in a cave for now, one of the many temporary and well-hidden places she stayed. Returning after the long and tiresome movements she had to go through to get the miniature bottle, she walked through the forest, exhausted, but her dark eyes glittered with triumph at the challenge she had just passed. Just when she reached the opening of the cave, she halted and her body tingled, sensing someone else nearby. Slipping the artifact into her tiny yet secure pocket, she touched the handle of her katana, prepared for battle. Stepping into the darkened cave, she resisted the chilling feeling around her, sharp eyes looking for even the tiniest disturbance in the dark. 

  


Suddenly, she whirled around with her sword bared, for she realized the shivers were not coming from inside but rather from behind her. In that split second, she twisted around to see the already pretty famous silver fox of the golden eyes. In his human form, the little moonlight available gave an entrancing touch to his silver hair, and in the semi-dark, Kaori could see his loose white clothing along with the simple band around his waist. Examining his silhouette in a glance, she took in his softly furred fox ears and the fuzzy yet intimidating white fur of his fox tail. Around him, there seemed to be an aura of power, yet he was calm and confident with his head level. 

  


Kaori's eyes focused like a laser on him, and even though he was not quite as famous as he would be later on, many already knew him. She certainly heard of him, and she had thought eventually they would meet. She knew one day he would be after what she was. In a silvery voice, the kitsune spoke calmly. 

  


"You have the rose vial."

  


Without saying a word, Kaori looked fiercely at him, her eyes cold yet answering his question. In that moment, she changed her plan, for although she was no coward, she was sure that with her worn state and his upper hand, he would quickly overpower her. In a fluid motion, she sheathed her blade then raced off, leaving the silver kitsune, who quickly began chasing after his runaway captive. Not wanting to waste any more energy than she must, she knew she must hide the vial secretly then come back for it later if the youko didn't kill her first. Suddenly, she made an instinctive veer to the right. A powerful attack hit her left shoulder, injuring it effectively, although not killing her as it would have done if she had not changed her course. Images swimming before her eyes, she used a sudden burst of energy and all her cunning to create a mass of swirl and confusion with her speed and crazy and jagged movements through the forest. Grabbing on to the few seconds the youko was taking to figure out where she was, she ran wildly into a clearing, searching for a hiding place. Seeing a strange tree, the only one there, she rips off part of the bark, not caring about the wounds slashed into her palms. Underneath, there was a soft, tender bark, yet sturdy and dry and a very enduring type of bark, one that would last for years as waterproof ans protection. She often used this to wrap her own things in when she was not planning to come back for a few months. With her skin coated with grime and scratches, especially her injured and dirt-layered hands, Kaori keeps her head and carefully wraps it up, then burying it without a sign of disturbance. Then the adrenaline floods back, and she rushes away, leaving the rose vial buried in safety and herself in danger. 

  


The Short Battle then Kidnapped: 

  


Far away from the vial, Kaori discovers that she had miscalculated, and suddenly, she was right in front of Youko Kurama. Startled, her eyes flash in disbelief then quickly regain their guard, only narrowing now at the dangerous creature in front of her. This was it. Watching each other warily, no one makes a move until the kitsune glows with power, and before Kaori gathers what is happening, she sees a glowing, red plant with many mouths at each end, mouths with sharp teeth and dangerous twists. Now, the setting was a clearing, not the one Kaori hid the vial in, with the two lighted up with power and the stars which were clearer now. 

  


"This is the Death Tree. As you can see, there are many mouths, and they are starving for something to devour. When you lie, that just makes them more dangerous. Where is the vial?"

  


There was a silence, then an icy reply. 

  


"I won't tell you, Youko Kurama."

  


While saying this, she rapidly took out a small dagger, sharp and with a wavy blade, and with her deep aqua blue energy, powers it quickly and shoots it at him. Just at this moment, the death plant's branches attack. Since the youko was distracted with the words and the knife's speed unexpected, he is struck in the lower arm, a dangerous place to be injured since there are so many important vessels there. Meanwhile, Kaori is fighting off the death plants with her katana to no avail, and then she sheathes it and tries to fight with spirit power. But then, the branches get a good grip on her, and opening the jaws wide, they move to her neck, ready to sink into the flesh. 

  


Right then, Kaori is hit roughly with something, and the death plant releases its grip, for evidently the silver youko was in the same dilemma. A few seconds later, they were engulfed in one huge orb, a slimy dark green. Kaori tried to break out, but the more she tried, the weaker she felt, and she understood that this thing took all the energy she radiated out. Then, she looked over at the silver youko, who was firmly pressing his uninjured hand against his other arm, flowing blood from her attack. Before the last of her energy was zapped and she fell into a short and uneasy sleep to regain strength, a little of the sympathy and compassion she had bound tightly for all her life escaped in her weak state, and she hazily wondered whether she had anything with which to bind his arm with to stop the blood flow in a more effective fashion. She really still had feelings in her heart. 

  


Awakening, talk, and Time Reversal: 

  


Snapping her eyes open, Kaori sat up, hands instinctively reaching for her katana...then realized she was tied up with thin, wire-like power strings, unable to be broken or stretched. Feeling them dig into her skin, she stopped, knowing more than just struggle would free her from this. After this conclusion, Kaori suddenly noticed her surroundings, a gray, brick dungeon with no window. Like all dungeons, the front side of it was made up of bars, but in this prison, the bars were a cm close, leaving only slivers of light to enter. In the dark, Kaori could make out an iron door in the right side. All of a sudden, she heard a rustling noise then saw golden eyes catching some light and glowing in the dark. Jumping, Kaori stared then examined the form with the corners of her eyes. A familiar voice spoke up, still as calm as ever and asking for the same thing. 

  


"Do you have the rose vial?"

Growling, she snapped back in irritation of her condition and his pestering. He would be tied too, and right now, it wouldn't do him any good to kill her. 

  


"No."

"....A pity. We could have used it to break free. No, I don't know anything about this predicament, and looking at your same dilemma, I would gather that you don't either."

"..."

"Then whoever captured us would not get the vial immediately either, if that what he or she or they is/are after anyways."

After this, there is a lapse of silence, then this time, Kaori speaks first. 

  


"You are Youko Kurama, right?"

"Yes."

"..Why do you want the Configuring rose vial?"

"..."

"...never mind."

"No. I'll tell you. I persist after the rare vial because the rose on the chain can-"

Just then, the door swung open, revealing two confident and snickering figures entering with a dim lantern. The bigger demon appearing a dirty yellow with medicine grape horns and tangled hair in the lantern's light, spoke first in a sneer while the second one, a battered blue with dim brown hair and curved white horns remained silent. 

  


"You're awake...wooonderful, we can watch the coming torture now. We want to see your reactions to the agonizing changes. You demons won't be getting out of here soon, and in a while, you won't even want to anymore. We'll see to that. Make yourselves comfortable, and don't worry, you'll be perfect pictures of innocence and happiness without any cares in the world."

Here, he snickers, then turns to the other demon, who was staring at the two of them. Taking advantage of the light, Kaori glanced over at the youko, and her sharp eyes immediately took in that he wasn't injured much and healing quickly. Even though she was regaining energy, the wires still held firm, and her head hurt. As she was thinking this, the first demon cackled loudly again. He rubbed his hands together. 

  


"Now, let's begin. Oh yes, this is going to be enjoyable to see your downfalls. Let's go, Bairei."

Bairei, the blue demon with curved horns, paused as the first demon was already outside the door and walking away. Hurriedly, he whispered hoarsely in few words. 

  


"The strings, they are only broken by focusing all your mind on them and absorbing it into your skin. It can't be broken, and the only way to rid yourselves of them is to do what I said. The absorbing won't have any effect, and the scar will fade away slowly. Hurry, you don't have much time. And the door can be-"

"Bairei? What are you doing still standing there? If you're telling them anything...."

As the other demon called, the second one jumped then scurried away, slamming the door behind him. 

  


Silence fell as the two concentrated in the dark on freeing themselves. The youko got free first, and he quickly untied the ropes, regular ones, binding his feet. However, Kaori was having difficulty with hers, for her head's pounding kept scattering her concentration. After pausing for a second, the fox untied her feet, probably still thinking about the rose vial, Kaori thought. Then the fast-moving kitsune glided over to the door, just as the whole room was completely closed, for the edges of the bars had slits, and out of the slits came a flat iron piece that slid into the slot of the next one, and then the dungeon was completely dark. The silver fox continued sharply eyeing the structure though, looking for some weakness. Suddenly, there was a sound of some sort of gas leaking in, a cloudy gray smoke quickly filling the area. Just then, the youko's spirit power, vast in amount, mightily dented the door, then gave way to a tiny space where he could slide through. At this time, he beckoned to Kaori, both not speaking for fear of what the unknown cloud could do. However, just as she finally freed herself and started for the door, a dark shadow entered and punched her hard in the stomach before she could react-her lighting reactions and instincts were already being clouded. Gasping involuntarily, she immediately knocked out the form, who had a gas mask on. Reaching for it, Kaori tried her best to take it off, having to pry of the clutching hold of the unconscious demon's fingers. Yet, as she was close to getting it off, she felt faint, and she crawled for the small space for freedom, where outside, the youko was evidently fighting many enemies at once by the sound. Just as she touch the doorway though, someone slammed against it, closing it...and trapping her well. She reached for her katana, but just then, she had breathed too much of the gas, and she fell to the floor in a dead faint, leaving the smoke to finish its effects. 

  


End of her first past: 

  


The cloudy white smoke, draining her spirit energy strangely as she breathed more and more of it despite her futile attempts not to, soon cleared, for it did not last very long, only long enough to bind one or more people with its effects. Soon, the weary youko finished fighting hundreds of enemies that were nowhere near as strong, but each taking a little energy eventually. Silver hair still floating silently as the magnificent white tail made a sharp jerking moment, the youko swung around, remembering the other who had been trapped with him. Finding it strange that she wasn't among any of the unconscious, badly wounded, or dead bodies (since no one else was standing besides him), his golden eyes flickered. He slowly turned around to look at the dungeon door. It was shut. He carefully pried the door open as much as he could with his drained strangth, then the shimmering eyes immediately caught the sight of Kaori lying near the doorway. But it wasn't Kaori exactly. Now, there was a sleeping baby, with the wide eyes of a young child and soft locks of black hair. It still resembled the cold half fire she-youkai though. His quick mine making a decision, the youko swept the baby up, wrapped in a tight bundle with nothing visible except the closed eyes. Here, the sharp eyes snapped open, and the pupils shrank to tiny dots, making her look fierce. However, since the youko's soft golden eyes seemed to mean no harm, she stared at him then went back to sleep. But just that moment, the girl took a sharp breath, then she disappeared...strangely enough. The youko stared at his empty arm, unsure of what just occurred. 

  


He figured that the white smoke enveloped individuals and turned them into small children, or at least the age of many years ago. But the disappearance he couldn't explain. Then, he heard a hiss whisper, and he turned to the demon with a gas mask on and yanked the mask off. It was the first demon that had visited them in the dungeon. Youko Kurama's eyes pierced into those of the demon, and the demon looked away and answered the obvious question. 

  


"The smoke. It turns those affected many years younger, many years. But it also turns time backward so the clothes of the young child are the same, and it would return to the place where it was at the time. Those power strings were very advanced, and it would not allow for the smoke to take the person to a different place. But somehow, you two got free from the strings, so since she was affected, she was transferred back. I have no clue where that is."

The youko threw the demon down, then left the dungeon, disgusted at the strange and powerful smoke the demons had created. Little did he know that later on, many centuries later, he would meet a weaker form of the gas again in the dark tournament. The idunn box. 

  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Her heart beating overly fast and her whole body breaking out it cold sweat, Kaori returns to the present, hands trembling. Youko Kurama, demons, two pasts. It was just too much. Trying to make herself calm down, she clenches her fists to stop her trembling and bites her lips to stop from whimpering from this flood of memories. It was too much. Breathing again, she just concentrated on slowing her heart beat and lowering he flushed temperature. Quiet...calm....

Just then, she saw the steel door open again, a little deja vu of her memories. Shuddering, she stops herself and firmly gets a grip on herself, just to lose it again the moment she sees who enters. The same demon with which had caused her so much pain. 

  


~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^

Author's Note:

I am VERY SORRY that this took so long, but this chapter totally didn't work well. I'm terribly sorry that it still didn't turn out to what I wanted, but this was a pretty long side story in the big story. Thank you for those of you who reviewed, and the plot will be better I think. Kaori will meet the yyh gang again in the next chapter. And btw, I'm going to be gone until August 18th, so please don't think I'm being really lazy. ^_^ I am a lazy person though. Please R&R. 


	5. Authoress Note! Update Coming Soon

Authoress Note: I've started school, so I won't be updating as much obviously. I"m sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I'm trying to decide the behavior, names, and etc. about the enemies of the story. ^.- It'll be up soon. 


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